A federal court judge has ruled in favor of DeKalb County residents, allowing them and others living outside of Atlanta to begin collecting signatures for a referendum petition aimed at putting the planned Atlanta public safety training center on the ballot.

The ruling restarts the 60-day timeline in which opponents of the facility must collect about 70,000 signatures.

Released Thursday, U.S. District Judge Mark Cohen’s order temporarily blocks Atlanta from enforcing its requirement that those collecting signatures must swear they are Atlanta residents. Cohen also wrote that the city’s requirement “imposes a severe burden on core political speech.” And he added that Atlanta failed “to present any argument that the requirement is narrowly tailored to serve a compelling government interest.”

“But requiring signature gatherers to be residents of the city imposes a severe burden on core political speech and does little to protect the city’s interest in self-governance,” Cohen wrote. “Because this court finds that plaintiffs are likely to succeed on their First Amendment claim, plaintiffs have established irreparable harm.”

https://www.ajc.com/news/crime/dekalb-residents-allowed-to-collect-referendum-signatures-60-day-clock-restarted/KNZEJPCPXBGG3PARQKLP47QQDI/?utm_source=Iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=campaign_7359208